Are you looking for a new job in 2021? Take a few minutes this week to listen to this incredibly valuable conversation between Ana Lokotkova (career advisor, speaker, and LinkedIn branding trainer) and Ash Kumra (career advisor and personal brand coach).
Get access to the full video here>>
Ana and Ash are both LinkedIn powerhouses, and during our December Unvalley conference they shared some incredibly useful advice for professionals who are looking for new opportunities between the coasts in 2021.
Highlights from the video:
6:05 – Why visibility matters even more now than it did pre-pandemic.
9:57 – Ana’s best tips for making sure your profile gets noticed and attracts the offers you want.
12:50 – Whether you should introduce yourself via text or voice message in LinkedIn.
18:50 – The kinds of content you should create for LinkedIn that will help connect you with people who can move you forward in your career.
Here are some additional LinkedIn tips for job seekers, from employers in the Powderkeg community:
“Utilize filters when searching. This allows you to narrow your search based on location, position level, role keywords, etc…and check consistently. You can’t go in just once or twice; you want to go in every few days to see which positions are still available. The job market is constantly evolving.”
– Heidi Barker, Senior Director of Marketing and Sales Operations, Parker Technology
“Visit a company’s LinkedIn page and take a look at the ‘People’ tab to see what types of positions exist. From there, you can network with individuals in your area of interest to learn about their experience and even get a foot in the door!”
– Trevor Franklin, HR Generalist, Springbuk
“Utilize the “open to work” feature. These profiles typically surface first when recruiters are searching for candidates. Choose a professional photo. Don’t copy your company’s job description word for word when writing about your experience. Be authentic.”
–Joe Stajkowski, Senior Talent Acquisition Manager, Zotec Partners
“When you’re actively job searching, make sure your LI profile is complete and a resume that is up to date, and an accurate reflection of each other. Many times I’ve seen applicants have different titles, positions, and even dates and other conflicting information that may raise a red flag.”
–Losalind Connell, Talent Acquisition Partner, Zylo
“Research not only the company, but the individuals who work at the company. Find patterns in their work experiences to help you understand if you’re a fit, and review the content they publish to help you understand if you will enjoy the culture. Connect with a few in relevant roles for current AND future roles!”
–Gabby VanAlstine, Director, Talent & Culture, Boardable
Find a connection at the organization or someone who has been there prior to understand what the role and/or company actually is. LinkedIn is all about networking, use it.
Your network is your net worth!
–Justin Flynn, Talent Acquisition Manager, Formstack
The best advice I have for finding a job via LinkedIn is to keep your profile updated with new skills & experiences and to build your network. Often times, people don’t want to connect with people they don’t know. I’ve had great success connecting with people at a conference or through another connection that have helped me professionally as a resource or with finding a job.
–Dorie Chevalier, Sr. Global HR Business Partner, Stanley Security Products & Solutions
Don’t be afraid to connect with your peers, leaders and individuals who hold job titles that you aspire to obtain yourself. This is your first step in getting yourself out there and to grow your network. Connecting with other professionals on LinkedIn is truly the fastest way to meet others and open opportunities.
–Abi Tambasco, VP of Career Services and Employer Strategy, Eleven Fifty Academy
My favorite tip when searching for a new opportunity within LinkedIn is to first do your research on companies you would like to work for. Then, determine if you have any connections at the companies who you can email, set up a call and maybe even see if they would be willing to help point you to the recruiter or the hiring manager. It takes effort on your part and you should seek out the right opportunity proactively versus just applying and waiting for a response.
–Lisa Evans, Sr Talent Partner, KSM Consulting
Focus on building out your LinkedIn profile to communicate your personal and professional why.
–Cat Edmonds, Business Development, Blackink IT
Get access to watch the entire video of Ana and Ash’s conversation in our Unvalley archives!
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Here’s the transcription of this video:
How to Create a Good LinkedIn Profile
Ash Kumra
What is your process like? So what is some You give to someone who maybe they got let go? How would you tell engaging platforms like LinkedIn?
Ana Lokotkova
Well, I think everything starts with First of all, taking a real objective look at your profile and figuring out, okay, am I really putting my best foot forward here? Because at the end of the day, your LinkedIn profile is sort of like your digital handshake. Like, that’s the first impression that you’re making online. And that’s how people are gonna, you know, judge you again, it sounds kind of weird, but it is it is the reality of things. So first, that’s what you want to do, you want to stay focused in your messaging in terms of what you have on your profile, because a lot of the times, especially when people are transitioning to something new, not you know, from their own, like, they didn’t choose to transition, they just have to do it. Yeah, it’s like, you know, you’re trying to hit all the different sides of things. So you’re like, Oh, I can do this, I can also do that, oh, I can fit into this world, I can fit into this industry. So you’re thinking, the wider, you know, the Nets I cast, the more opportunities I’ll be able to get. And unfortunately, it actually works the other way around.
Tailoring Your LinkedIn Profile to the Job You Want
So by trying to hit everything, at the same time, you’re doing yourself essentially a disservice. Because everybody wants to see some focus. And it doesn’t mean that let’s say if you have a very diverse background, that that’s a negative thing. Like I’m not saying that. But essentially, you’re still need to have a focus in what it is that you’re good at, how would you be able to stand out from other people in the same niche in the same area or in the same industry? And that’s very, very important. So once you have that, and you know, now that I’m actually saying it, it sounds like oh, yeah, sure. It’s not that easy to figure out sometimes. But hopefully, when you do the work, whether you do that work on your own, or you do it with somebody or you hire someone to help you doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, as long as the work is done, then you can think about your strategy in terms of Okay, so I have a good profile, it does represent truly what I like the value I bring. So how can I get it out there? Because one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to LinkedIn specifically is people thinking, Okay, so I’ve optimized my profile, I have all the keywords, I have all the good stuff. So now I’m just gonna sit back, relax, and wait for all the wonderful people of the world to reach out to me and want to partner with me. So that’s, that’s the most important thing, it’s always a combination. And even from the standpoint of the LinkedIn algorithm, it does take your activity, like your daily engagement on the platform into account when it comes to showing your profile to other people. So you again, it’s kind of goes back to the same thing. So you have that polished profile, which essentially reflects your professionalism. And then how do you make that profile visible? How do you drive traffic to that profile?
Using LinkedIn’s Voice Messages
Ash Kumra
So there is a question here, I just went to the stage. It’s such a cool platform, by the way, this platform, and it’s actually really easy to see. So Nicole, Elizabeth, the married asked, What are your thoughts on sending voice messages via LinkedIn, DMS to someone who doesn’t know you as a way to introduce yourself? I’ve noticed the debate around it.
Ana Lokotkova
Yeah, there’s definitely a debate around it. And that’s a great question. I think you want to mirror the style of the person who you’re talking to. So if you’re reaching out to someone brand new, and you still have you yet have to figure out what their you know, preferred style of communication is, I would suggest that you go with both a text message and a voice message, just in case because I’m like, I personally am a huge fan of voice messages. Like I love when people send voice messages to me, and I love sending them back. So I’m never opposed to that idea. But I know from a ton of people that that is something that is considered as, Oh, are they challenging me to do the same in return? Or is it like a phone call? What if I want like, what if I don’t want this? So which is still you know, to me, personally, is pretty hard to understand. But I kind of get the point. So I think following up with different formats in the beginning would be the most appropriate way in terms of you’re still trying to add that personal touch without sacrificing you know, that style of communication or the appropriate line of communication. So and then once the person responds and sends you something back, if they send a voice message back great, then they’re definitely up for it. And you can continue communicating that way. If they stick to text, maybe that’s what you should stick to as well.
How to Add People on LinkedIn
Ash Kumra
So I’m going to add a follow up question to what she said. Because this is a question I get asked a lot a lot from people is when you add someone just before before you connect with someone, do you write a personal message or do you make it sweet Are you just add them like, what’s your style on that?
Ana Lokotkova
I’m definitely pro adding a note. Very much so for the reason that let’s imagine that you’re Trying to connect with someone who has a pretty busy network like they are active on LinkedIn, they have a lot of people reaching out to them. And you know, you’re reaching them in a very busy day. And they’re looking through all of those requests and all of them look, you know, okay, so there’s a bunch of people wanting to connect, I have no idea who they are, I have no idea what do we have in common? And I have no idea whether I actually want to make that connection. Because there are obviously some people who are open to just connecting with everybody. And those people are mostly after numbers. And I’m not against that, but it’s just not my style, personally. So I think you know, what you want to have is you want to always have a balance, yes, you want have some, you know, active networking going, but it needs to stay meaningful, it needs to stay valuable, it needs to stay sensible. So I always try to attach a personal note, even if it’s something as quick as Hey, I saw you here in here really loved your point on this, can we connect, even if it’s something as simple as that? I think it adds that personal touch and helps you to stand out and start a conversation right away, which is actually the whole point, right?
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